What's in a Name?

At least that's what the manufacturers had slated as the "name" for this brand new cut introduced just this year.  Apparently the name was taken so there is currently no official name as of yet.  Regardless of what you want to call it ... I CALL IT AWESOME (and I am not easily impressed)! :)  We are, for the time being, referring to these diamonds as Square Cushion H&A's as GIA is describing them as "Cushion Brilliant" on their Lab Reports due to the rounded corners.

This year we have witnessed a tremendous evolution in diamond cutting with the introduction of two 2nd generation modified super ideal rounds (Eighternity & Solasfera) but for those who have a penchant for 4 equal sides in a shape, who want brilliance, fire & scintillation that is on par with the most beautiful rounds, that after being set is *square* ... your time has finally come.

The Facet Structure of the SquareC H&A

As with rounds the facet structure is very similar since the cutters were attempting to mimic the most brilliant rounds.   From the top or crown view you have your 8 stars (in purple), 8 bezels (in red), 16 upper girdle facets (in teal) and 1 table (pink).   On the pavilion, 8 pavilion mains (blue) and 16 lower girdles (yellow).

Polish, Symmetry & Proportions

Each Square H&A is lab graded by non other than GIA.  No diamond we have witnessed gets lower than "Very Good/Very Good", however most get Excellent/Excellent with regards to the polish & symmetry grades.  Neither the polish or the symmetry grade however affect the optics of these diamonds which is more directly affected by the proportions & optical symmetry.

Click on the icon to view a typical GIA Report for one of these.

The proportions on the Ideal Squares all fall within the current AGS definitions of "Ideal Cut" regarding crown angles, pavilion angles and table size.  Here are 2 examples below.  What is most important however is that they are cut to sets of proportions that produce the desired optical effects (ie. minimal leakage and excellent optical symmetry).  The factory cutting these has certainly achieved that as you'll learn about below.

By necessity, the girdles on the sides do get extremely thick (as it does with Jubilee/Regent).  When a factory is cutting square H&A's they begin with the proportions in a round and polish down the sides to make it square. This polishing down is what causes the girdles to be thicker on the sides.  This however has absolutely no impact whatsoever on the optical properties of the diamond which we'll discuss now.

The Optical Design of the Square H&A

To obtain this level of optical symmetry, very careful attention must be paid to facet alignment and proportions on a facet by facet basis.  The optical symmetry of the Square H&A must be of the utmost precision and is only rivaled by the Jubilee and Regent. Diffuse light conditions (or white hemisphere lighting) really flatters the optical symmetry of a precision cut diamond allowing the viewer to *see the arrows* in regular lighting conditions and is a beautiful feature you will not get in 99% of square diamonds on the market.  The picture below demonstrates the point rather plainly.

Pic taken in diffuse light conditions emphasizing optical symmetry & brilliance.

LightScope Analysis

Light leakage in Square H&A's are extremely minimal as can be observed in these stones we had scanned in.  In every single Square H&A we have examined, leakage is virtually non existent.  In the images below white would be indicative of blatant leakage.  You can learn more about red reflector technologies and the info this is showing us via this link.  Needless to say, just about all other square shapes on the market only dream of having these kind of reflective properties.

BrillianceScope Results on the Square H&A's

The light performance of the Square H&A is better than most rounds currently on the market and their brilliance is only rivaled by the best H&A rounds.

As of this publishing the fella's over at Gemex have upgraded our B'scope machine and the new software has a setting for "modified squares" and a seperate one for "squares".  There is an auto shape detect feature which puts the diamond into the appropriate shape category and shows the results accordingly.  We have a problem with this new "modified square" setting however as it is TOUGHER THAN THE SCALE FOR ROUNDS in most circumstances!  Let's examine a few examples.

Firstly here is a Square Cushion H&A on the scale for rounds.  What is impressive about this is that MOST ROUNDS DO NOT GET RESULTS THIS GOOD!!!  Only rare, fine H&A diamonds score 2/3 "Very High's" on the BrillianceScope.  These diamonds are not just as good as a round, they are more brilliant 99% of the time!

Here are the results of a typical round we have scanned in.  Each Ideal Square H&A *always* exhibits stronger and better optics than 99% of rounds on the market.  This is very important to keep in mind regarding these awesome diamonds.

Here is the same Ideal Square diamond on the scale for "modified squares".  White light goes down a full grade from VH1 to H1 and scintillation increases 1/3 of a grade from H2 to H3.  Modified squares ... ANY modified squares ARE NOT more brilliant than the best rounds hence I do not think that putting these on the modified square setting is a fair comparison. Since these diamonds are primarily being looked at and compared to other *squares* it is the opinion of this gemologist that they should be judged according to other squares.

Here is the diamond on the scale for squares.

So... which scale to use?  If you are comparing these with other squares then I say squares.  However since we can make any kind of comparison (even among different shapes) we can show you the results as compared to a round, a square, a marquise ... whatever comparison you want to make.  Just ask. :)   One point I would like to drive home however is if you are comparing one of these with a princess cut ... a triple very high princess cut IS NOT THE SAME as a triple very high Ideal Square H&A.   A cursory comparison of both on the scale for rounds reveals the hard truth of this.

I.e., here is a triple very high princess cut under the scale for squares.

Change the scale to rounds and here are the results on a more linear scale.

Bottom line ... when both shapes are compared on a linear scale (on the scale for rounds) the Ideal Square H&A leaves the princess cut beggin for more. :)

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